Text: Bryan Chan

I’ve always loved the steak houses in North America. It might be the only thing I like from that continent. The dark wood floors, antique brick, wooden walls with a offset by ambient lighting with a palette of browns and limestone entrances. Steak houses are the highlights of my annual visits to the continent. The recent opening of BLT steak, Bistro Laurent Tourondel, in Hong Kong is definitely very welcoming for the city, where I have failed to find a decent steak restaurant. Designed by renowned architect, Hernan Zanghellini, BLT steak as they tell us “integrates traditional elements of a cozy French bistro with those of urbane culinary culture”.

We didn’t start the meal with bread, instead we were treated to Popovers; light, hollow rolls made from an egg batter, something similar to a Yorkshire pudding. The popovers were extremely delicious, nice and soft with a hint of cheese to strengthen the taste.

The first dish we tried was their Tuna Tartar with Avocado and Soy Lime Dressing. It was one of the best tartars I’ve tried in recent memory. Served on a bed of ice, it was the perfect summer dish. The avocado was not overly ripe and the combination of everything from the tuna and avocado itself to the lime dressing they used was brilliantly thought out because every ingredient complimented each other so well, leaving you yearning for more.

And more we had…as we moved on to the main attraction…steak! All steak served at BLT are USDA, certified Black Angus or Australian 90 grain fed. They claim to naturally age their beef for maximum tenderness and flavour before broiling at 1700 degrees. All this information is written on their very brief but concise menu, so as the steaks arrived we were ready to scrutinize. We were served with a 14oz American USDA Rib Eye. One bite of the steak and we realised that BLT steak definitely serves excellent quality meat with a very strong beef flavour. Our steak was served medium rare, the texture excellent with the juices trapped well giving it the right moisture content ensuring no toughness. Steaks are served with a broad range of sauce from béarnaise to your typical barbeque sauce and we added a side of perfectly crunchy onion rings.

By the end of the 14oz steak, we felt we had no room left for a dessert. So when they presented us with two of their signature desserts, the Crepe Soufflé and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Parfait, served in generous portions, I was more than stuffed already and looking at the richness of the dessert didn’t sit too well with me. But as they say, ‘never judge a book by its cover’ because after one bite into the soufflé, it only took a minute before I downed the whole thing! As rich as it looks, it wasn’t heavy at all; in fact it was really light. The passion fruit sauce was a great compliment to the dessert adding a hint of sourness to neutralise the sweetness of the dessert. The crisp skin gives your mouth a crunchy texture and the whole dessert was so lusciously soft.

The peanut butter chocolate parfait on the other hand wouldn’t be my choice even though it’s another very popular dish. I found the peanut butter too heavy especially after such a large meal – but I may be little biased since I’ve never been a fan of peanut butter.

Last but not least, their wine list which focuses largely on U.S. Wine is quite big from a not so expensive bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon at around HK$300 to a 1996 Opius One at HK$9,750. There are lots to choose from.

I definitely enjoyed the experience and have already gone back before this review was published and the and that second visit didn’t fail to impress again.”

Address: Shop G62, Ground Floor, Ocean Terminal, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Tel: 2730 3508